The present invention relates to a cutter mat for use as a pad or support to be laid under a sheet of paper or synthetic resin when the sheet is cut or cut off by a cutter.
Cutter mats of this type heretofore known comprise a base plate of hard synthetic resin such as hard polyvinyl chloride and a surface plate made of relatively soft synthetic resin such as soft polyvinyl chloride and adhered to the upper face of the base plate with an adhesive. Since the known mats are usable only on one surface, they are serviceable for a short period of time and involve such inconvenience that the surface, when stained, must be cleaned before further use. Furthermore, because of the differences between the base plate and surface plate in coefficients of expansion and contraction, the mat is susceptible to warping owing to variations in temperature such as between winter and summer. Such warping of the mat results in difficulties in the cutting operation. Additionally the base plate, which is hard and smooth-surfaces on its rear side, tends to slip on the desk or table during the cutting operation, thus involving the risk that the user will be inadvertently injured on his hands or fingers. Conventional mats have another drawback. Since the base plate has a relatively large thickness so as to withstand the cutting action of the cutter edge, the mat has a high rigidity against bending and is accordingly inconvenient to store or handle. It is further noted that the base plate is repeatedly damaged by the cutter when it penetrates the surface layer, with the result that the rigidity of the mat will be reduced during use and will be eventually broken at a damaged portion. The surface layer might be made thicker and the base plate thinner, but if the surface layer has an increased thickness, the cutter would cut deeper and thereby encounter greater resistance, failing to function efficiently. With incisions formed in the thick surface layer, the rigidity of the mat would be markedly reduced.